1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed towards displaying written charts and graphics for classes, seminars, business meetings and the like and, more specifically, to an improved presentation board that has special provisions for holding a pad of paper, has collapsible legs, and is stackable when collapsed.
2. Description of Related Art
The presentation of graphics and written materials for teaching and for business and other meetings has undergone considerable development in recent years. In the beginning there was the ubiquitous blackboard or slate. At one time the boards were actually black and were written on with sticks of chalk. Today, the board is usually white (or beige) and is written on with special felt markers. The "whiteboard" provides erasable information that is large enough to be seen by an audience and can be presented interactively. That is, material is added or subtracted from the board as a lecturer speaks or in response to a question from the audience.
Thus, a blackboard system remains a key part for presentations and teaching. There is no problem if the teaching activity occurs in a classroom, because virtually all classrooms have some type of blackboard permanently installed. However, if a presentation is made in a conference room or office, a permanently installed blackboard is usually not available. Therefore, presentation boards have been developed. Basically, such devices contain a whiteboard of convenient dimensions for easy transport. The unit is equipped with legs to elevate the board for convenient viewing. Preferably the legs can be folded or broken down in some manner so that the presentation board is reduced to a package that can readily carried from room to room or building to building and then rapidly set up for a seminar or some similar gathering.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,249,251 to Howell discloses a portable display rack. This unit is supported by four tubular legs formed as two U-shaped members. These legs fold out from a rear surface of the rack to assemble the unit. However, while the legs do fold flat for carrying purposes, the legs remain full length, extending beyond the perimeters of the rack even in a disassembled state. Therefore, the legs may catch on items and render transporting the rack inconvenient.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,297,188 to Skyhawk et al. teaches a combined carrying and display case for visual aids used in seminars and teaching. This device folds into a convenient carrying package which holds items and then unfolds into a display holder. The unit, as described, is too small for a presentation board. When the case is opened, a carrying handle forms a front leg while half the case forms a rear leg. Both of the legs are angled from the case so that the effective elevation is less than a longest dimension of the case. If the device were scaled up to presentation board size, the leg configuration would produce a board that was too low by conventional standards since the elevation of the board is usually at least equal to a longest dimension of the board, thereby elevating a lower edge of the board to about waist height.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,300 to Neuland et al. discloses a simple portable display board which is supported by three legs of a configuration much like an artist's easel. That is, two front legs are in the plane of the board, while the third leg pivots back from an upper end of the display board to create a stable tripod. The portability of the unit is improved by having the front legs slide up into the board while the rear leg folds flat on a rear surface of the board and telescopes in length so that the folded rear leg is no longer than the board. However, the folded rear leg is present on the rear surface where it can catch on items during transport and interfere with flat stacking of the display boards.
A major problem with all blackboard systems is their limited writing space. This means that sooner or later a board user will be forced to erase part of the board and will be unable to refer again to the erased information. Also, it is very difficult to prepare a presentation in advance-one cannot bring in prepared sections of blackboard. This problem is exacerbated with a presentation board since the board is generally much smaller than the permanently installed boards of a classroom.
One solution is to include a means for holding paper sheets as in a flip chart. In its simplest form, the flip chart is merely a very large pad of paper. The lecturer uses felt markers or crayons to illustrate points. The flip chart is used like a blackboard, but the usual flip chart is not erasable. Instead, a new sheet of paper is revealed by tearing off the original sheet or by flipping it over the top of the pad.
There are at least two advantages to the flip chart. First, it is quite simple to prepare much or all of the material in advance. Furthermore, the charts are usually small enough to be readily carried from place to place. Second, the chart is permanent so that sheets can be referred to repeatedly and even saved as a record of the presentation. One effective technique is to ask the audience questions as one writes on the chart. Audience consensus is then recorded on the chart. As ideas are developed, the key charts can be torn from the pad and taped or hung about the room so that they are always available for instant reference. Thus, there is a need for a system that can easily accommodate an erasable board and a flip chart.